16 Things Your Kitchen Can Do Without

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from John and Dana Shultz. John and Dana share simple, delicious recipes on their website Minimalist Baker.

Last updated: October 26, 2019

Minimalism isn’t just about the number of things you own. It’s about paring down to the essentials and finding contentment in owning less. This applies to every part of your life, for example, your wardrobe, the items in your room, and even your kitchen.

Practicing minimalism in the kitchen doesn’t require sacrificing your ability to make incredible meals. In fact, having less clutter in the kitchen actually makes it easier to get in there and cook up something wonderful.

Simplifying into a minimalist kitchen always starts with removing the utensils and appliances you aren’t using and don’t need. This means your kitchen can be decluttered very inexpensively with only a little time and thoughtful consideration.

Below is a list of 16 kitchen utensils we don’t own (and we run a cooking blog!). The list is partially inspired by A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks, a New York Times article packed with tips and suggestions for keeping a simple kitchen.

This list is neither exclusive nor conclusive. Rather, it’s merely a starting point to hopefully inspire you to reevaluate how much you keep in your kitchen. Be honest with your situation and only keep the tools you are using to create a minimalist kitchen.

16 Kitchen Tools We Do Not Own

1. Kitchen Aid Mixer. Not owning this guy is pure heresy in the food blog world, but we survive just fine. Replacement: A $13 handheld mixer.

2. Crock Pot. It’s big, it’s bulky, and you probably only use it once a year. Replacement: Varies by dish, but usually a large pot will suffice. If you really need one, borrow it from a friend.

3. Knife Block. These can be more bulky than necessary. Replacement: Keep our knives in the silverware drawer.

8. Toaster oven. If you don’t regularly use this, then it’s just eating up space. Replacement: Regular toaster or a traditional oven.

9. A wok. Although a fun device, it’s rarely used. Replacement: The largest pan you own.

10. A Juicer. Big, bulky, and hard to clean. Replacement: If you love to juice, you can juice without a juicer.

11. Espresso machine. First, you probably don’t use this as much as you thought you would. Second, to get a really good espresso you usually need very high quality equipment and the time to adjust your grind/machinery to get that perfect shot. This simply isn’t practical for the average coffee lover. Replacement: Sell the espresso machine and go to a coffee shop when you want good espresso.

13. Rice maker. Only keep this if you regularly make a lot of rice. Replacement: Prepare rice in a traditional pot.

14. Doughnut pan. When is the last time you made doughnuts? Exactly. Replacement: Go buy doughnuts when you want them, or try a pan-free version.

15. Quesadilla maker/ Panini press. Ah! Replacement: You can get the same effect by using a skillet, tin foil, and pressing down on a pan on top.

16. Egg scrambler/milk frother/other trinkets. Be honest, you don’t really use these things. And they are only taking up space. Replacement: Just a little creativity.

+1. Fine china / heirloom dishes. This was intentionally saved for last, because it’s likely the emotional attachment is greater than the pragmatic realization that you are not using them. This quote has helped us in this area: “The truth is, neither our love for the person, nor their love for us, nor our memories, are in the possession.”

I want to finish by admitting we keep things that others might consider superfluous, but we use them every day and continue to enjoy them. Ultimately, we feel that should always be our guiding principle and hopefully one that empowers you to question the same.

What else can you/have you removed from your minimalist kitchen?

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You can find more of John and Dana’s fabulously wonderful recipes on their website, The Minimalist Baker.

Comments

I find it interesting how defensive people are about the things they keep and use. Joshua has ALWAYS been the type of minimalist who advocates for keeping what you use. He’s never been the extreme type!

This thing I want to show this to my mother. I always have to explain about things like this to my mother. I hope this post will understand her that we don’t have to put a lot in our kitchen. Thank you so much for this post.

In general, this is a good list to start. Everyone has different wants or needs. I use my second hand Breville espresso maker daily. It’s not large and has saved me money. I use my Kitchen Aid often, but I love baking at home. I got rid of my rice cooker (yes, I do make it on the stove and watch it while I cook the rest of dinner) I got rid of my breadmaker because I make it better by hand. I have none of the other unitaskers. I only use my crockpot a couple times a month, but frequently enough to keep on hand under the cupboard. I did pair down my kitchen drawers last fall and need to work on the cabinets. I have too many pots, pans and cookie sheets that get little to no use.

I rid of my rice cooker(same time to cook on stove), bread maker and threw away my Kitchen Aid (had nothing but trouble with it.) Love my hand mixer, toaster oven is a heat saver in AZ as well as the crockpot. I do want to add a nonstick skillet someday…maybe need to clear out a few more things first.

Well many of these we never had.
We do not have a microwave, and generally do not miss it.
We do have a knife block, but it is a purely vertical one so takes up the same space as a champagne bottle. We have only one drawer so this is the best option.
For espresso I have a classic stove top moka.
We do have a little waffle iron, this we use a fair bit in the summer as it is traditional to where we live.

I love love love my kitchen aid, and toaster oven though! And I have a lot of countertop space so I have room for them. I hate grating cheese, so the cheese grater that goes on the kitchen aid has been a lifesaver! I use my toaster oven all the time. Oh, and I use my crock pot a lot too. It makes the best shredded chicken and roast! I recently decluttered my kitchen though and I love having space in my cabinets! I plan on going through my kitchen again and getting rid of even more clutter. My mom bought me an Insta pot, and I hate that thing. It takes up space, it’s heavy, and I’d rather cook with my crock pot or on the stove. I haven’t used it in over a year. Never had a rice cooker or knife block. The toaster oven I’ve tried to get rid of multiple times, but i end up needing it for toast, eggo waffles and pop tarts lol! And I have sooo many cups! But my husband has his favorite cups and I have mine, so getting rid of cups is a struggle. Ok, I thought I was doing better with the kitchen clutter till I read this post 🙈

Several of these on the list I do use regularly and are necessary for me. I bake bread 2x a week- kitchen aid mixer, and I also make rice often(I was born in Japan after all, and yeah the wok is essential as well). Toaster oven is great in the humid summers to be able to bake without using the oven and make the house hotter.

How about getting rid of all those “smaller gadget items” that claim to make things easier in the kitchen but in reality it is just something else extra you need to clean and takes up kitchen cupboards or drawer space. So many of them seem to be unnecessary that they sell. My roommate moved out (when she moved abroad)and so much we were able to get rid of because we didn’t need them.

I agree with a Kitchen Aid mixer being unnecessary. I have a gorgeous red Kitchen Aid mixer that I don’t even keep in my kitchen because I do not use it. It was a gift from my mother-in-law who firmly believes that every kitchen MUST have one. She gave it to me for Christmas one year. My husband also believes a Kitchen Aid is necessary; because him mom told him so. So I am stuck with storing a giant mixer that I never use because my mother-in-law would be offended if I got rid of it. Fine china is also not necessary. That is another thing that I store, but never use. My husband inherited it from a deceased Aunt. I actually seem to store a number of items that my in-laws would be offended about me parting with; it is a bit of a burden. My mother-in-law goes through phases where she buys me whatever she is into. I have been slowly donated a bunch of Pampered Chef stuff I don’t use. I was bombarded with Scentsy when she went through her Scentsy phase and all of the Copper Chef pans when she went through that phase. I love that she cares and gives me so many gifts; I have a very nice mother-in-law. I have spent years trying to get her to give me less though. She finally visited and didn’t buy me anything, and I was so relieved. I explained to her that I don’t need gifts and I don’t need her taking me out for every meal. She allowed me to cook and spent time with us at the house; it was so very relaxing.

Agree with all except rice cooker, wok and toaster oven! If you are a Japanese frugal minimalist like me — these three are *absolute* essentials: 1) rice cooker – rice is the staple of the diet (and cheap) 2) the wok – it has to be the cheap one from Chinatown, not clunky one from William-Sonoma, and once you master flash-frying (a method of inexpensive, fuel-efficient, low-cost cooking, it’s a game changer – they cost about $15 3) toaster oven – again, 100 percent more energy efficient than a traditional oven for many things — especially Japanese dishes, broiling fish — look behind a sushi counter, they will always have one.

I keep a 20 year old Kitchenaid because it was a wedding gift, and it certainly makes play the 1-2x a year I bake or make some fresh pasta.

MS,
I was thinking the same thing about the rice cooker – I live in Asia and can’t imagine cooking my rice in a pot on the stove where it would need to be watched constantly and likely burn. But, I have friends in the US who don’t even make rice at home, so it would be a wasted appliance for them I suppose.

I enjoyed reading all the comments, but I was happy to realize that we had already gotten rid of the majority of the items on this list. Some may say because we don’t cook, but in the contrary we cook breakfast and dinner pretty much everyday, including weekends.

I have always made rice by putting the rice and water in a small covered casserole dish and bake at 350 until done (about 30 minutes). Always comes out perfect. So this way I don’t need a fancy rice cooker, and I have multiple uses for the casserole dish

I always bake my rice as well. Ratio is 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water. I first melt butter, then add the rice and cook for a few minutes. Then I add the water (or chicken stock), bring to a boil, cover and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Will never make it another way!!

I use my espresso machine daily… sometimes twice a day!!! If I went to the coffee shop every time I wanted coffee I would be broke! I recommend finding a good middle priced machine and just playing around with it until you know what you like. Then all that coffee shop coffee will never taste the same!

I find a hand mixer more awkward to store than the stand mixer. I got rid of my hand mixer.
People are so defensive of their knife blocks, lol. I’ve always kept my knives in a drawer, I have 4 kids and it’s never been an issue.
I’m surprised you keep a regular toaster and get rid of the toaster oven. I’ve never owned a toaster, I’m against kitchen items with only one function when it’s something another item can do. If I want toast I make it in a skillet. The toaster oven can do a lot though and is great for reheating. I don’t have one now though and survive fine.

I never understand the “get rid of the crockpot, you probably only use it a couple of times a year” advice. I use mine at least a couple of times a week. It’s such a great tool to have for busy families.

I use my crockpot all the time, what a way to save a lot of work and mess, a small one for me and my man, a med, to make beans or mash potatoes a large one to make company casseroles…throw it together in the morning and no matter how tired you are at night your meal is ready.

Even if you don’t make rice all the time, a good, inexpensive rice maker makes rice perfect without having to watch the pot. Have used ours for 26 years now, and it’s still going strong. It’s also easy to store out of the way. Would never get rid of it.